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That is the question du jour. It may have been easy to dismiss the santoku as just a bit of trendy fluff initially but I find it extremely useful. I will never give up my good French chef's knife however. The big difference is in size, both length and handle. I have small hands so the santoku fits me so well that it easily becomes an extension of my arm and in an Eastern sense of my mind. There are still jobs that I use the big knife for however. They are much sturdier. I found that the santoku took some jobs from the big knife but took many from my small knives as well. In the end this will come down to individual preference. Do you find small knives comfortable or not? The answer may be telling. Whatever choice you make pay more than you think it should cost. There is no substitute for quality in your cutlery. Wusthof and Henkels are my prefered brands. Whatever style blade you choose plan to spend $100-$400 per knife. It goes without saying to always hand wash and never to store in a drawer. Here are some discussions of the two knife styles.

I use both types dependng upon the job. I have a little more control with the santuku.

I've got a full Shun Classic set. They are affordable but are also a quality set of knives. The "Perfect Pairing" knife is one of my favorites and is the perfect knife for peeling and deviening shrimp. Also the off set bread knife is very useful.

Thanks for the replies and links, guys. I just bought a Shun Santoku a couple days ago, but have yet to break it in. Saving it for a Saturday/Sunday meal or something I guess. I still live in an apartment with a small kitchen, so I guess it makes sense that I prefer Santokus for now.

I use a santoku (2 sizes) for most prep work but a Sabatier (12' or 10") for kitchen carving. My small paring is a small Sabatier for small hand work.
I do like the sheep foot front of my Santoku with granton sides.
There used to be a le Creuset and Sabatier outlet near Charleston where I loaded up - knifes, pots, ovals etc. ) after college- still cooking with them just fine 40 years later.

So why would you use the chef over the santoku? Just for feel... or do you use it for different things?

* your personal preference.. not what's given in the articles

One of the santoku's advantages is that the blade is somewhat flexible. That is also its disadvantage. You want a traditional knife to cut hard items like winter squash. If you are halving acorn squash with a santoku then I foresee a visit to the ER in your future. Please take your amputated digit ON ICE with you. They are more likely to be able to graft it back that way.

One of the santoku's advantages is that the blade is somewhat flexible. That is also its disadvantage. You want a traditional knife to cut hard items like winter squash. If you are halving acorn squash with a santoku then I foresee a visit to the ER in your future. Please take your amputated digit ON ICE with you. They are more likely to be able to graft it back that way.

Haha. Thanks for the advice.

I feel pretty happy with my purchase then. I don't carve a great deal of squash and if that rare occurence presents itself in the near future, I have a Sabatier chef's knife that should do the trick :D